A suspected al Qaeda-linked activist was killed in a shootout with Jordanian security forces in the northern city of Irbid on Tuesday, a security source said. "One suspected terrorist was killed," the security source said, adding that police had surrounded a place to prevent a planned attack.

Security sources told The Associated Press that the two men opened fire at the special police forces and the elite intelligence unit that came to arrest them.

According to Reuters, security sources said one person was detained. Police had been monitoring the group and the clash lasted some three hours, ending early this morning, they said.